A bed ensemble is a combination of an upper mattress supported on a lower base and forms a typical bedding apparatus in common use. The upper mattress can be of any type, composition or configuration to provide the necessary comfort and secondary support for the user. The lower base is used to elevate the mattress off the ground and to provide ventilation, but importantly to also provide controlled support for the upper mattress.
Since people have very distinctly unique body shapes and weight distribution along the length of their bodies, mattress and bed ensembles need some means of variable support along the length of the mattress. In particular the adjustment is required from the shoulder down to the waist, lower back, hip, under the knees and ultimately at the lower leg and feet.
However a prime importance is the correct support of a person in a bed particularly if a person is in bed for a long period such as in the case of incapacitated people or patients in hospitals. Although hospital beds have various moving parts these are primarily for use for facilitating medical operations or emergency positioning of the patient. The only variation for the comfort of the patient is the planar half folding of the bed to provide the top end of the bed as a back rest and allow the patient to sit up.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved support base for a bed that allows better support for the long term user of beds.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved support base for a bed that overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems of the beds of the prior art.